Some notes on the early history of nitric acid: 1300-1700.

Nitric acid is one of the compounds that have played an important role in alchemy, chymistry, and crafts. The first clear European recipe for its preparation is in the Latin treatise Liber de inventione veritatis, which appeared around 1300. Together with four further works, this treatise formed a corpus initially considered to be of Arabic origin, compiled by Jābir ibn Hayyān, known in Europe under the Latinized form of his name Geber. In the medieval Arabic world doubts had already been expressed as to whether this alchemist had actually ever lived. Confusion concerning the authorship of the works under Jābir’s name continued well into modern times. H. Kopp, who dealt extensively with the history of nitric acid, originally considered Jābir to be the author of the corpus and thus of L. de inventione veritatis. It has been recognized subsequently that these books are of European origin, influenced by Arabic sources. Called the Pseudogeberian corpus, it was then generally accepted as a source that had introduced nitric acid in Europe.